Apparatus for removing snow and other loose material from the ground



Feb. 10, 1970 l. KARIJO 3,493,989

APPARATUS FDR REMOVING SNOW AND OTHER LOOSE MATERIAL FROM THE GROUND Filed Feb. 23, l967 INVENT 35 BY ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofice 3,493,989 Patented Feb. 10, 1970 US. Cl. 15-340 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to an appratus for removing snow and other loose material from the ground in particular airport runways and comprising an elongated tubular member having a longitudinal slot and in the interior of which a pressure below atmospheric is created by the suction action of a jet directed through said tubular member from a jet generating unit, the slot of the tubular member being arranged to tangentially face the snow or the loose material to be removed, thereby sucking such loose material within the tubular member and expelling it from the discharge opening of the tubular member.

This invention relates to a machine for removing snow or other particulated or loose deposits particularly from airport runways or roads in general.

The machine comprises a jet generating unit, elongated tubular member at least partially, substantially coaxial with the axis of the jet generated by said unit and surrounding with one end portion thereof of the nozzle of the jet generating unit and surrounding with the other portion thereof the said jet over a substantial length thereof. The elongated tubular member has a longitudinal slot facing the snow or other particulated material to be removed and through which the material is sucked into the tubular member by the depression and vortices created near said slot by the jet streaming through the tubular member end is entrained by the jet and expelled therefrom through the free end of the tubular member, remote from the said jet generating unit. The elongated tubular member has a diameter greater than the diameter of the nozzle of the jet generating unit and the diameter of the said tubular member preferably increases toward the free end thereof. The tubular member is moved by a vehicle in a direction transverse to the axis thereof.

The known apparatuses for removing snow are based on moving blade members acting on the snow. This requires a substantial mechanical force acting on the snow and for moving the blade members and in addition such machines cannot be profitably used when the snow deposit is very thin, since there is alaways the danger that the blade members hit against and damage the road surface or themselves. Furthermore such machines are slow in operation and of complicted nature.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine which will be efficient and rapid in operation, simple in construction and handling, and which will allow even a very thin layer of snow or other loose material to be completely removed from the supporting surface without any possibility to damage said surface.

The invention will be better understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. I shows an elevational view of the machine of this invention:

FIG. II shows a plan view thereof;

FIG. III shows a lateral elevation thereof, rotated by 90 so that the horizontal plane is vertical in the drawing.

FIG. IV is a plan view of the machine with the tubular member in folded condition;

FIG. V is a cross section taken according to line A-A of FIG. I.

Referring to the drawing the machine comprises an elongated tubular member 1 carried by a vehicle 2, which may be a tractor or a truck carrying a tank for the fuel or kerosene necessary for operating a jet generating unit 4, which may be of any conventional kind. The unit 4 is arranged at one end of the like elongated tubular member 1 and enters with the nozzle thereof into the interior of the tubular member 1, which surrounds with its end portion the nozzle of the jet generating unit 4. The nozzle and the tubular member are coaxial at least at the relevant end portion of the tubular member. The tubular member extends for a substantial length, which depends on the width of the strip or runway from which snow is to be removed. The diameter of the tubular memher 1 gradually increases towards the snow expelling free end thereof. At this end the tubular member assumes an inclination directed upwardly as best visible from FIG. I. The tubular member extends transverse to the forward direction of the vehicle 2 indicated by the arrow in FIG. II. The transverse direction of the tubular member is slightly inclined to the forward direction of the vehicle and so that the snow expelling end of the tubular member 1 is behind and with respect to the end thereof communieating with jet generating unit 4. The tubular member is provided at the bottom portion thereof with a longitudinal aperture or slot 5 extending throughout the operating length of the tubular member. The slot opens towards the ground in a inclined direction with respect to the vertical. Along the opposite parallel borders of the slots 5 there are provided bafliing flap-like members directing the stream of sucked air and snow into the interior of the tubular member. In one embodiment the baffle means are hinged in an adjustable manner on the tubular member and allow to regulate the opening degree of the slot. 5. The baflle member 8 which is nearest to the ground is inclined downwardly in the forward direction of the vehicle carrying the tubular member and with its free edge it may touch the ground and act thus as a scraper or scrubber member causing the possibly packed snow to become loose and facilitating thus the suction and removal thereof. The upper baflle member 9 is of rounded crosssection with its free end extending upwardly. In this way an intake Venturi ditfusor effect is obtained. Advantageously additional small jets are provided by small nozzles 3 distributed over slot 5 towards the inside of the tubular member 1. The small nozzles 3 are connected by means of pipes 7 with compressor means defining the pre-compression stage of the jet generating unit, from which compressed air is drawn and conveyed to the small nozzles 3. The nozzles 3 are supported by the pipes 7, which in turn are fixed on the tubular member 1. The jet generating unit -4 and the tubular member 1 are supported by a frame structure partially visible in the drawing on the forward end of the vehicle 2. The tubular member 1 is advantageously shaped also in the longitudinal direction thereof as a Venturi ditfusor so that a Venturi effect is obtained therein.

As best seen in FIG. IV, the tubular member 1 is made of three sections of which .the intermediate section is rigidly connected with the vehicle, whereas the end sections are rotatably supported thereon through conventional pivoted frame members which allow the end sections to be swung rearwardly parallel to the forward direction of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 4, when the machine is nonoperating. In this way the space occupied by the machine is greatly reduced. In the operative condition of the machine the end section and the articulated frame members are so designed that when the end tubular sections are swung in their operative position they match with the intermediate section of the tubular member. The

supporting frame for the tubular member is advantageously provided with swivelling wheels 6 through which the supporting frame may rest on the ground. Non represented hydraulic power cylinders are provided for swinging the end sections of the tubular member from the operative into the non-operative condition and vice-versa.

In a modified embodiment the lower scrubber member 8 shown in FIG. V is replaced by a rotating brush sweeping clean the thinnest snow layer. The rotation of the brush may be provided by any conventional motor transmissively connected with the axis of the rotating brush.

As jet generating unit profitably old jet engines of old jet airplanes may be used. Control means may be provided of conventional type through which the operation may be easily controlled from the control board of the motor vehicle carrying the tubular member 1.

The operation of the machine is simple. When the jet engine is started the motor vehicle is advanced in its forward direction. The sucking action of the vortices which are formed at the slot 5 sucks the snow or other loose particulated material into the tubular member 1, where this material is entrained by the jet streaming through the tubular member 1 and expelled through the discharge end thereof.

The machine according to this invention has been carried out into practice and has shown excellent results. The constructed machine had a tubular member 1 of a length of 18 meters and used an airplane jet engine as the jet generating unit 4. It was possible to throw the snow about 15 meters away from the discharging end of the tubular member. The thrust of the momentum created by the jet engine blast was satisfactorily matched by the heavy vehicle, this thrust being mitigated also by sweeping action.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for removing deposits of loose material from a solid surface, comprising an elongated tubular member having an inlet opening at one end thereof and an outlet opening at the other end thereof and a longitudinal slot extending over a substantial length of said tubular member and arranged to face said loose material in the operative position thereof, a jet engine including compressor means and having a nozzle opening into said tubular member through said inlet opening thereof and creating a jet engine blast flowing through said tubular member, said tubular member having an inner diameter greater than the diameter of said nozzle thereby to create a partial vacuum at the inner periphery of said tubular member and a suction effect along said longitudinal slot thereof, compressed air nozzles connected with said compressor means and distributed over said slot and directed transverse to the longitudinal extension of said tubular member towards the interior of said tubular member, thereby to inject air into the interior of the tubular member substantially perpendicular to the jet engine blast, a supporting frame carrying said jet engine and said tubular member and vehicle means connected with said frame to move said tubular member against the deposits of loose material in an operative forward direction parallel to said solid surface and transverse to the longitudinal extension of the tubular member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 750,852 2/ 1904 Hart. 2,404,287 7/ 1946 Greer 37-12 2,936,537 5/1960 Bain 37-19 3,107,386 10/1963 Mandin 15-345 3,228,125 1/1966 Wiebe 15-340 X 3,287,755 11/1966 Pansini 15-345 X FOREIGN PATENTS 588,799 2/1959 Italy.

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 15-345 

